MTTCR to protest against high property tax

Token-strike and sit-in to be held on Mall Road today

RAWALPINDI / ISLAMABAD: The Markazi Tanzeem Tajiraan Cantonment Rawalpindi (MTTCR) has decided to protest against the high percentage of property tax imposed on them.

This was stated by MTTR President Zahid Bakhtawari. He said that the government was taking measures without taking stakeholders into confidence. He added that traders and residents of the cantonment were being harassed by contractors, which was shameful. In this regard, he announced that their organization will stage a token-strike and a sit-in at Al-Amin Plaza on the Mall Road from 12pm to 2pm on Monday.

He urged army chief and corps commander to take notice of the situation as the situation was creating an impediment to business activities in the cantonment.

United Group on illegal ICCI activities

The United Group of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Sunday asked the relevant authorities to take notice of illegal activities in the ICCI and to streamline matters.

The ICCI has become a family business for a group that has been calling the shots for decades now and almost all the presidents and vice presidents are selected on the basis of personal bias, alleged ICCI United Group Chairman Habibullah Zahid.

Speaking to the business community, Zahid claimed that the financial mismanagement in the chamber has reached gigantic proportions. He went on to call for auditing accounts of the business body for the past 10 years.

The group that has control of ICCI has been mercilessly wasting resources on buying loyalties to ensure their control, he said.

Moreover, he claimed that half a million rupees were allegedly collected from every person travelling abroad as a member of a delegation, but this amount has yet to be reflected in the accounts.

Many people went abroad with the help of ICCI but never returned, this can technically be counted as human smuggling, Zahid alleged.

He further added that the display centre of ICCI was being used for commercial purposes while the Capital Development Authority (CDA) seems to have turned a blind eye towards it.

Zahid highlighted that there were some alleged bogus memberships and overt favouritism in the ICCI, as near and dear ones are drawing salaries beyond their abilities. Furthermore, millions are also given to them in advance which is illegal.

Shahid Zaman Shinwari, Malik Nadeem, Sarfaraz Mughal, Zahid Qureshi and others also spoke on the occasion and asked the Directorate General of Trade Operations to take action on the matter. DNA

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2019.